HAIM DAYS ARE GONE YOUTUBE MAC
In other words, there’s plenty here to keep us interested (and dancing) until their next record, which with a little work could end up proving that the sisters Haim are as gifted as Fleetwood Mac after all. And not for nothing, they make Mumford and Sons look like chumps as well. While Haim’s songwriting chops are more imitation than innovation at this point and might not be on par with say, Lindsey Buckingham in his prime, their skills certainly put those of their 80’s revivalist peers, like Twin Shadow and Grimes, to shame. Ultimately, this is a supremely promising album. Yet I’ve never encountered anything quite like it. Take “Forever,” it’s essentially Michael Jackson’s “ Wanna be Startin’ Somethin‘” with a 60’s girl group drum beat. Their greatest trick though, is that they pay this remarkable amount of homage while maintaining a very tangible sense of individuality. At one moment they’re reminding you of Kate Bush the next they’re riffing like Scandal or using a synth that’s a dead ringer for something you’d expect in a Pointer Sisters chorus. Haim accomplishes this through an uncanny ability to channel the vibe of a great number of 80’s artists all at once. These minor plagiarisms aside, the results remain stunning.
“Honey and I” is lovely, but it sounds like an out take from Rumours that didn’t quite make the cut. Compare, for example, the drum beat on, “Go Slow,“ to that of Tom Petty‘s “ Don‘t Come Around Here No More,” it’s the same thing. The down side is that Haim does occasionally cop their influences wholesale. On songs like “If I Could Change Your Mind” and the title track, they execute it better than anyone else has in a very long time. They employ a style of songwriting that makes a percussion instrument out of everything in the mix vocals, synths, bass, and guitars.
Haim draw their inspiration for this record from a well of disparate 80’s pop music everything from Rick Springfield to Debarge, but especially Fleetwood Mac. Even the lesser tunes, “My Song 5,” “Let Me Go,” and the closer, “Running if You Call My Name” are not without their virtues. The first seven cuts are a nearly flawless string of what I can only describe as pop music heroin a collection that most bands would be proud to call their greatest hits. Here’s the thing though, from the first note of this album, haters are going to find themselves faced with a very inconvenient truth: Days Are Gone is a hugely satisfying collection of songs. Anyway, there’s a lot of good excuses for anyone with sensible taste to write them off. This is just one reason I had a hard time coping with this record (they also toured with Mumford and Sons). We’re supposed to be intrigued that they’re a female Jackson 5, except there‘s only three of them and they play indie rock. In Haim’s case, it’s that they’re a group of hot sisters, just on the legal side of puberty. The sort of thing groups do when they have some bullshit image they‘re trying to manufacture. Could have been the management, the record label, maybe. He certainly rarely turns up in any of their promotional material (however, we are supporting him up above). The only time you’ll ever see Haim’s drummer, Dash Hutton, is when they’re performing ( they’re not that great live).
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